Alone and Remote
by hoyteca
Summary: Fox and Krystal crash on a planet with no hope of rescue.
1. Chapter 1

"Why me? Why us? Why now?"

Fox awoke in the wreckage of his arwing. He looked at the instrument panel.

"Breathable atmosphere. Guess we're probably not dying after all."

Krystal was sitting on his lap, as her ship was destroyed during the mission. He regretted accepting her offer to ride with him, believing that his desire to get closer to her may have doomed her.

Fox opened the canopy and got out, lifting and carrying his unconscious wife to safety. The air on the planet was clean, disturbingly clean. No planet should be that clean unless, unless Lylatian civilization hadn't spread to this particular planet.

"What now?"

Fox looked at his arwing. The nose was crushed like a can and torn apart like paper. The wings were completely torn off and the engine was unrecognizable. It was a miracle that the cockpit held together as well as it did. Why did it crash? Previous arwings lost entire wings and engines and still got the job done. This arwing took only a few hits to the engine and went down like a wounded bird. Probably one of Slippy's "upgrades". Fox thought that Slippy was losing his touch. Now he knew it. Stupid frog.

He then thought about home. Corneria would go looking for their hero, even if it meant saving the blue "traitor". Surely Falco and Slippy would look for them. After all, Fox wasn't just their friend, he was their employer. Without him, they're out of a job.

But would they find him and Krystal? Probably not. The planet was in a different system, probably too far away from any Lylat-controlled system for any rescue to be possible. It probably didn't really matter. Fox had grown to loathe the pressure that comes with hero status. He hated being criticized for merely getting the job done in a merely perfect matter. They wanted better than good. They wanted better than great. They wanted better than the best. One more mission and Fox would likely have drunk himself to death.

And what about Krystal? Lylat hated her for "betraying" their "hero". They spat on her and pissed on her and pelted her with stones and garbage. They called her names and threw poo at her like monkeys. Had it not been for her love of Fox, she would have blown her brains out long ago.

Maybe Fox should be thanking Slippy's engine upgrade and its sudden malfunction. Had the engine not been crippled, he and Krystal would not have had this second chance.

"Second chance."

Fox liked the sound of that. Second chance. They could start over. Fox could be a normal, nonfamous person for once and Krystal could finally get the respect she deserved.

"What happened?"

Krystal woke up with a blinding headache. She ran up to Fox, tears streaming down her face as she wrapped her arms tightly around her husband.

"I was so scared, Fox."

She tried desperately to avoid crying until the urge grew too strong. Her sobs started quietly but grew louder until it was painfully obvious. Fox knew that it wasn't just the crash. No. The crash was the final straw, the spark. The real reason she was crying was her shitty life in the Lylat system. It was the insults and the spit. It was the garbage tossed at her everywhere she went. Fox tried his best to calm her, to reassure her.

"It's alright," he told her, his arm holding her against him "It's alright. That's all in the past. You don't have to worry about Corneria anymore. I'm here for you."

I'm here for you. Those four words were all she needed to feel better. He was always there for her, even if she didn't want him to be. She knew that she didn't have to worry as long as he was there for her.

"Thanks."

Fox nodded and walked back to the arwing. He had remembered about the emergency supplies. Even if the faulty emergency radio didn't work, there was still the food and alcohol. He had always insisted on alcoholic beverages in the kits because water would contaminate easily and the alcohol would kill just about any harmful microbe that dared fall into the booze. Alcohol also had a calming effect, valuable when you were stressed and didn't have to worry about flying.

Fox grabbed the kit and walked back to Krystal.

"Here's the plan" he told her "while you won't find this system on any map, there were reports of inhabited planets in this region in the galaxy. Some with primitive societies, some with advanced. Civilization, no matter how primitive, means food and drinkable water. We simply need to locate food and water supplies while also finding shelter. Your staff is our only weapon, so we have to be careful not to attract any unwanted attention from hostile predators."

Krystal nodded and followed him as he ventured out into the forest. She didn't know if they were going to survive, but Fox's plan sure beat waiting by the wreckage for rescue that might never come.


	2. Chapter 2

Fox and Krystal walked for what seemed like hours. The forest wasn't too thick. The trees blocked out much of the sunlight, but they could still walk easily without having to worry about bushes or anything. It wasn't too long before they found what they were looking for.

"Water."

Fox and Krystal cautiously approached the river, looking out for any hostile natives or predators. When it was clear that they were safe for now, they got to their hands and knees and started drinking. Unsurprisingly, the water tasted as clean as it looked. They drank a bit, enough to satisfy their thirst, but not enough to send them to the nearest tree right away. Looking around at her surroundings, Krystal noticed something down stream.

"Village."

Fox and Krystal cautiously approached the village, careful not to be seen. Though they weren't hungry now, they were curious as to what there was to eat around here. The village looked like it had been there for years, so there had to be a local food source nearby.

Now about a few thousand yards away, Fox and Krystal hid behind a tree and bush and pulled out a pair of binoculars he took from the arwing and studied the village.

Like Fox suspected, the village wasn't the most technologically advanced place in the universe. They appeared to lack electricity completely and had quite a few domesticated fauna, mostly food. The town itself was mostly huts made out of animal skins. A large stone building nearby was decorated with statues and symbols, likely their temple.

The people were surprisingly varied. While most looked completely alien to Fox, quite a few looked almost Lylatian. Fox didn't want to think too hard about why Lylatians would be here. If he and Krystal got here, it's not impossible for someone else to have gotten here.

Fox thought about what to do next. The locals might be friendly, but he might be mistaken for an enemy scout or something. Alone, he might risk it, but he had Krystal with him. Had anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He could try to sneak in when nobody was looking and steal some food, but he might be found and killed and Krystal would be alone.

Fox decided not to risk it and walked away. Krystal followed him.

"What did you see?" she asked, curious.

"Village. It's pretty primitive by Lylatian standards. They don't even have electricity. They might be friendly, but they also might not be."

"What are we doing?"

"Nothing yet. I'm going to try to find a food source."

As they were walking, Krystal couldn't help but feel that they were being watched. She looked around, but found no one. If someone was following them, she couldn't see them, which made her nervous. A few hours later, they made it back to the crash site just as the sun was beginning to set.

"We should probably stay here for a bit. While it won't fly anymore, the cockpit should provide adequate shelter and protection from hostile wildlife."

Krystal nodded as they loaded their meager survival rations into the cockpit and climbed in. Fox regretted not upgrading his arwing to a two-seater, but Krystal didn't mind. She liked being as close to Fox as possible and there was no place she would rather be than on Fox's lap. Fox lowered the canopy and they slept through the night uninterrupted.

Meanwhile, the scout that was stalking them returned to the village.

=-=-=-=-=-=-

Upon returning to the village, the scout spoke with the village

"Do you know where they came from?"

"No. They appeared to have crashed nearby. It's probably related to the fireball we saw earlier today. I don't know where they are from."

"Are they alone or is there anyone with them?"

"They appear to be alone."

"Good. I hope they have a good night sleep. Tomorrow, they're going to pay our little village a visit."


End file.
